Overly lightweight fork - bad design choice

[Truckee]

US buyers beware - Haibike USA is a sales company only and does not stand behind their products. My 2016 SDURO All Mountain SL drag the front brakes on turns because Haibike specified an overly light weight Suntour fork for a heavy e-bike and they won't even give me credit for me to swap them out for a proper e-bike fork. Just because we bought an entry level e-bike doesn't mean it can drag brakes on corners like fingernails on a chalk board. So much for "advanced design and engineering". I'm an engineer and this is a basic design flaw - period. I've tried contacting Haibike DE but they have not yet repled and deleted my post from their web site - great customer service! My dealer contacted Haibike USA and they said they can't do anything - we should work with Suntour. Suntour says their forks are fine. Total runaround!!

My dealer is great. It is too bad Haibike isn't standing behind their products!

 

[pxpaulx]

I have the same fork on my hardseven SL - are you saying that the brake pad is rubbing on the disc when leaning in on turns? This can happen when a bike is newer. How many miles are on it now? Have you tried to adjust the caliper at all? It is very simple to do and often will alleviate this issue. You also want to make sure that the wheel quick release is tight and seated properly, if it is loose this can cause lateral play as well. In my opition, E-bikes should be using thru-axles, they are much more stiff than old quick release systems, but that is what we get on the lower end bikes for now.

 

[Truckee]

I have about 120 miles on the bike. My wife's bike has less miles, The dealer has adjusted the calipers, bled the brakes, adjusted the wheel bearings, and tightened the hubs. When that didn't work he swapped out the wheels and front caliper from his $8000 bike and had the same result. If you turn the bike upside down and hold the now top of the wheel in your hand, you can see the fork flex and brakes rub with not much hand force side-to-side.

 

[Truckee]

The SL does have the Suntour thru-axles.

 

[Truckee]

I am replacing the forks with the Fox 34. Done with Suntour SR forever. Zero customer service which is amazing now that we can so easily share our experiences. Haibike never even bothered to respond either. Too bad Specialized only had a fat e-bike. That would have been a better choice in hindsight.

 

[pxpaulx]

The SL does have the Suntour thru-axles.

maybe the 2017 models...? 2016 didn't.

 

[rmasa]

I am replacing the forks with the Fox 34. Done with Suntour SR forever. Zero customer service which is amazing now that we can so easily share our experiences. Haibike never even bothered to respond either. Too bad Specialized only had a fat e-bike. That would have been a better choice in hindsight.

Have you considered a lefty fork?

 

[Truckee]

My dealer downsized the front brake rotor to a 180 mm and all the rubbing stopped. I'm happy now.